Cloud time tracking vs desktop

Feb 18,2015

You know that tracking time and capacity of your staffers is crucial, but is a desktop or cloud time tracking software the right answer for you? Although desktop time tracking and practice management software can be great tools for monitoring employee capacity and productivity, they can be cumbersome. Desktop solutions are typically only helpful if you use one application that you need “bolted to the floor” in one location. In this increasingly mobile society, however, few of us are tethered anywhere and are itinerant multi-taskers, whether owing to travel, busy schedule or both.

So what is cloud computing?

Cloud applications are by nature accessible from anywhere, at any time. Cloud computing means that your software exists in a virtual space online instead of taking up space on a desktop computer or server so it is available to your staff 24 hours per day from any location with an internet connection. Payroll will never again be held up because someone was absent and didn’t submit a timesheet, and jobs will remain on track regardless of where employees are working (or resting).

What are the benefits of cloud time tracking?

The best thing about cloud time tracking apps is that they integrate well with many other programs that are both in the cloud and on your computer. For example, BigTime IQ is used as a stand-alone app by many of our customers, but it also seamlessly connects to Intuit’s Lacerte, as well as QuickBooks Online Plus and QuickBooks desktop. Introducing cloud computing to your company does not require a radical overhaul of your business processes, as it fits neatly into them and enhances existing functionality. BigTime IQ Pro and Express can also be synced with other apps via the API.

Is cloud computing safe/secure?

It can be intimidating to store confidential data in the cloud, but it is a secure process that may take better care of your data than a desktop alternative, in the long run. What will happen to your data if your computer or server crashes or experiences another hardware issue? BigTime Software uses triple encryption technology to remotely store your information in a heavily-fortified digital environment.

Is 2015 the year that your company explores cloud computing software and enters the 21st century to optimize efficiency and cut costs associated with productivity loss or inaccurate time/expense tracking? We’d suggest you strongly consider it, whatever solution you end up implementing.